“Kooda” Producer Earned $700 & 50/50 Publishing Split for Beat

Earlier this month, controversial Brooklyn rapper 6ix9ine earned his second Gold plaque from the RIAA for "Kooda," following January's "Gummo" certification.

It must be noted that, in 2017, 6ix9ine, pled guilty to a felony count of Use of Child in a Sexual Performance, for which he was given a delayed sentencing of two years. According to his plea agreement, 6ix9ine could end up serving only three years of probation if all the minimum requirements of the agreement are met.

In a brand new interview with BeatStars host DJ Pain 1, "Kooda" producer, Koncept P, who is currently a senior in college, disclosed his upfront payment for the beat and his publishing split:

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"They offered me like $700 and then like 50 percent publishing so to me, at the time, that was like gucci," Koncept told Pain 1.

As a part of the producer declaration that he signed with 6ix9ine's label, Tenthousand Projects, Koncept, with the help of a few trusted allies, was able to retain his full 100% composer share:

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"At the time, I didn't have an entertainment lawyer or manager or nothing like that, so I pretty much went to my business professor—I am still in school, I am a senior in college so I got two months left—I hit up my recording professor, business professor, they were looking through it with me, making changes, talking with the attorney," Koncept said. "Overall, it was fine. It was good, I guess, to get my foot in the door. The contract wasn't necessarily the greatest, I didn't get as much money off the jump, but you know everything is pretty cool. I got myself a lawyer and everything's been going well ever since."

"Kooda" represents Koncept P's first major beat placement, but according to one veteran producer who we spoke with for this story, the upfront payment he received, especially considering the success of the single—88 million views and counting on YouTube—is "awful" for an original production.

As for the publishing split, 50/50 is roughly the industry standard.

To recap publishing, in brief, there is a total 100% share of publishing on any given composition and, in a fair world, the artist and producer would split the publishing 50/50. In this case, if Koncept P has a publisher administering his rights (so, 50%) on "Kooda," of that 50%, the publisher would get 50%, leaving 25% as the remaining value. For on-demand streams, where the bulk of the revenue is being generated in this instance, only about 6% of the total revenue goes toward publishing, while another 6% (give or take) goes to US public performance organizers (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC).

While no two deals are identical, the producer we spoke with suggested Koncept P (and his representatives) could have set their sights on slightly higher front-end payment, a reality that he acknowledged in his comments above.

Correction: In a previous version of this article, the 50/50 deal that Koncept P earned for "Kooda" was mistakenly compared to a suggested 70/30 split, which the producer would separately be seeking from his publisher.